Silicon Valley Bank Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker sold $3.6 million of company stock under a trading plan less than two weeks before the firm disclosed extensive losses that led to its failure. The sale of 12,451 shares on February 27 was the first time in more than a year that Becker had sold shares in parent company SVB Financial Group, according to regulatory filings. Neither Becker nor SVB immediately responded to questions about his share sale, and whether the CEO was aware of the bank’s plans for the capital raise attempt when he filed the trading plan. Prearranged PlansThere’s nothing illegal about corporate trading plans like the one Becker used. However, critics say the prearranged share-sale plans, called 10b5-1 plans, have significant loopholes, including that they lack mandatory cooling-off periods.

Source: The Hindu March 11, 2023 23:51 UTC